Unboxing the Dec-Jan BDJBox

It’s been a long time coming, but finally the December-January BDJBox is here! According to their twitter account, there has been some delay in the processing of their boxes that is not of their doing. As they have been very forthcoming with information about the delay, I don’t really mind it. It’s just been hard to keep the excitement in check! They decided to call this the Dec-Jan box, because I assume this is supposed to have been sent as the December box, but was shipped out in January.

Now on to the unboxing!

The box of course is the same as my November BDJ box. The nice surprise of this package is the included BDJ Forget-Me-Not Ideas Journal, which is a good-quality notepad with dotted lines instead of the usual solid lines. This notepad is the BDJ team’s way of apologizing for the delay of the December box, which was a pretty nice touch and much appreciated. I would definitely be able to use this for work.

Upon opening the box, the usual welcome card will greet you. This box’s theme is “Beauty for the Better”. A set of five stickers is also included, each saying “I am beautiful in my own way.” It’s a pretty nice and empowering reminder, and I am definitely putting this next to my november sticker. The box itself holds an enticing bunch of products that I can’t wait to try. As a quick aside, this box feels a little less packed than the november box.

Full size – 250ml – Php259 (erratum on welcome card)

The first product that will leap out at you is this big bottle of Pantene Pro-V All Day Smooth Miracle Water. It’s obviously full sized. It’s supposed to be similar to a leave-on conditioner wherein you apply this after your bath, and you leave the product on afterwards. I took a quick sniff and was pleased to find a nice scent. I am definitely looking forward to giving this a shot.

Full size – Php349

The next two items had me tickled. They are both from a brand called Flormar, which the welcome card says is a Turkish brand. This first one is Flormar Longwearing Lipstick, and it’s in a nice shade of delicious pink! I’m very glad they gave me a pink shade, as I’m more likely to go around with pink lips than with red ones. One of the bloggers I follow, Yette, received a red shade.

Full size – Php99

The second product from Flormar is this Supershine Nail Enamel. A nail polish! I get a nice lipstick, and a nail polish from the same brand! It looks like an appropriate shade of pinkish-red polish that I can wear to the office too. I am already liking this box a lot. Just a side note again, Yette received a blue polish.

Full size – Php149

I got a second lip product in this box in the form of Snoe Beauty Beso Balm. I’ve always wanted to try out the Snoe brand since I seem to see a lot of raves for it. What perfect timing! It also has very humorous warning for use: “Prolonged use may attract opposite gender and cause intense flirting.” I took an experimental sniff, and immediately liked the scent – a sort of pepperminty smell. Both this and the Flormar lipstick immediately found their way into my purse.

Sample size – 150ml – Php628 each in full size

After Php750 worth of full-sized products, we now come to the sample-sized ones. The first one to catch my attention is this Etude House Moistfull Collagen Trial Kit (Emulsion and Freshner). I was quite taken with the review of the Wonder Pore line from Liz of Project Vanity, but was never able to find the opportunity to see for myself. This seems to be a great way to try out a similar product, which also helps tighten pores according to the welcome card. I know it looks like a single pack, but it has two tubes inside it.

Sample size – 5ml – Php3640 for full size 200ml

Next is a Pevonia Botanica Phyto Gel Cleanser. I’ve heard good things about Pevonia, which is a premium brand judging from the price of the full sized product. Unfortunately I am still in the process of trying out the Shiseido facial cleanser from the november box, so it will probably take some time before I can test out this Pevonia cleanser.

Sample size – 1.2ml – Php3398 for full size 50ml

Lastly we have a sampler of Britney Spears Radiance Fragrance. To be honest I’m not really a fan of celebrity scents; I couldn’t see the point of it. This is in addition to not being a fan of perfume to start with, so I wasn’t really very thrilled to see this included in the box. The smell coming from the sample tube isn’t that bad though, so I should probably give it a chance.

Sample size – Php548 for full size 80g

But wait! There’s more! BDJ included bonus samplers (which they also did in the november box actually, but I wasn’t able to mention it in my unboxing). In this case both samplers are from Tony Moly, another Korean beauty brand. This first one is a couple of samples of Tomatox Magic White Massage Pack. I had wanted to see what a “massage pack” is, but the writing at the back of the samplers are in Hangul.

Sample size – 3g – Php478 for full size 200ml

The second Tony Moly sampler is Broccoli Sprout Cleansing Cream. Unfortunately it’s another facial cleansing cream, and I already have a long line of things to try. It looks pretty interesting though, being broccoli-based. I hope to find time to try this out.

A BDJ box is incomplete without the generous inclusion of vouchers: 1. L’Oreal X-tenso Moisturist (Php2000 off) and Inoa Hair Color Services (Php1000 off) redeemable at Azta Urban Salons, expires end of Feb; 2. Browhaus Php500 cash voucher; 3. Tony Moly 10% off Skin Care Voucher, expires end of Jan; 4. Etude House 10% off Skin Care Voucher, expires end of Jan. I can see myself using either the Tony Moly or the Etude House vouchers, since I really like playing with Korean beauty products.

My impressions of the Dec-Jan box: I am happy to see that even though they are running late, BDJ is still able to deliver a kick-ass box. There are no signs of decline in quality of products and brand choice. I’m hoping that this is just a snag caused by the holiday rush, and it’s not going to turn into a habit.

I’m also pleased to feel the degree of personalization in each box, which I am supposing came from the choices I picked in the BDJ quiz. Last month only the Yuka nail polish removers had variations, while this month the Flormar lipstick and nail polish shades vary depending on your choices.

I will definitely buy the succeeding boxes. I am impressed with the team’s choices of products, making me feel that they really put care and thought into the boxes.